Google’s hugely popular OS platform, Android, has nabbed over 80 percent of global smartphone market share for the first time in the third quarter this year, according to the latest report from IDC. The company, according to the source, now accounts for four out of the top five vendors worldwide. Google’s recently released Android 4.4 aka KitKat should also help hike up the Android numbers further. However, the company notes that, while the OS has moved forward overall, the vast majority of its vendors “still struggle to find meaningful market share.”Current market leader Samsung accounts for 39.9 percent of all Android shipments this quarter. Other major vendors, however, laid claim to single-digit market shares, while smaller companies individually accounted for less than than one percent. Moving down the list, the analyst firm also noted that Microsoft’s Windows Phone had an “amazing” quarter with a massive 156 percent year-on-year growth.
Android rises to the top, yet again (Image credit: IDC)
Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform now accounts for 3.6 percent of the total mobile OS market share, an increase from the 2 percent seen in the same period last year. The company shipped out 9.5 million devices during the third quarter, with the lion’s share going to Nokia. According to the source, "By itself, Nokia accounted for 93.2 percent of all the Windows Phone-powered smartphones shipped during the quarter, marking a new milestone in the company's short history on the Microsoft platform. Participation from other vendors, meanwhile, still seemed a mixed bag with more vendors participating from a year ago, but volumes still far behind Nokia's own."
While talking about this, Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team, said, “Android and Windows Phone continued to make significant strides in the third quarter. Despite their differences in market share, they both have one important factor behind their success: price. Both platforms have a selection of devices available at prices low enough to be affordable to the mass market, and it is the mass market that is driving the entire market forward." Android has now been able to claim 81 percent of the market thanks to its “broad and deep list of vendors”, according to the source. Apple’s iOS has claimed the second place on the list, accounting for 12.9 percent of the mobile operating system share. The company’s share, however, has dropped from the 14.4 percent it enjoyed in the same period last year. IDC attributes this to “soft demand in the weeks leading up to the launch of iOS 7 smartphones.” Rationalising this, the company said, "If the 9 million units sold during the last week of September is any indication of future adoption, iOS stands to reap another record quarter in terms of volumes, market share, and year-over-year growth." The last OS on the list, BlackBerry, has recorded the largest year-on-year decline among leading operating systems this quarter. The OS now accounts for 1.7 percent of the market, down from the 4.5 percent seen in the same period last year.
ReadMore:Android Games
No comments:
Post a Comment